Ed Sheeran was once homeless before he found fame and now, he’s the proud owner of an expansive property portfolio worth £57 million, which he reportedly paid for in cash.

The Castle On The Hill singer is said to own a staggering 22 properties in London alone after ploughing money into the investments, as well as the huge estate he calls home in his beloved West Sussex.

According to The Sun, Ed decided to pay outright for each one of his houses to avoid owing banks with a mortgage.

What a dream.

In London, the 29-year-old is said to own a £20 million house in Notting Hill, and two properties nearby for a combined £4 million.

He also has a restaurant and bar, Bertie Blossoms, on west London’s trendy Portobello Road.

The pop star’s portfolio also includes properties in Covent Garden and two flats near Battersea Dog and Cats Home.

Ed mostly resides at his West Sussex estate, which is made up of a collection of five houses which he purchased in 2012 for a modest £895,000.

A source revealed: ‘He has a great portfolio of properties and he owns the lot free and clear. There was no need to borrow the cash from a lender because he already had it.

‘Some people have the cash tied up so need to raise a mortgage but Ed has piles of the cash in the bank so there was no point in letting a bank earn money by lending him the money. He just bought them outright.’

Makes sense!

Ed previously revealed how he struggled to settle in one place before finding fame and was even homeless.

‘I didn’t have anywhere to live for much of 2008 and the whole of 2009 and 2010, but somehow I made it work. I knew where I could get a bed at a certain time of night and I knew who I could call at any time to get a floor to sleep on. Being sociable helped. Drinking helped,’ he wrote in his book A Visual Journey.

He continued: ‘I spent a week catching up on sleep on Circle Line trains. I’d go out and play a gig, wait until 5am when the Underground opened, sleep on the Circle Line until 12, go to a session – and then repeat.

‘It wasn’t that bad. It’s not like I was sleeping rough on the cold streets.’

Last week, Ed topped the Sunday Times Rich List for young musicians for the second year running. The singer saw his wealth increase by £40 million over the last year, to reach £200 million overall, meaning he remains the richest musician in the UK aged 30 or under.